Openings & Closings: El Burro and The Bull Team Open a Gourmet General Store

John and Veronica Avila, the husband and wife team behind El Burro and the Bull, a barbecue eatery located in the downtown underground food hall, Conservatory, will open a retail store selling their meats and products in January 2018. Henderson and Kane General Store, 715 Henderson, is located in an old Sixth Ward historical building which formerly housed a 1930s mercantile.

The store will offer house-cured deli meats, barbecue sauces and a number of specialty products, including El Burro and the Bull’s signature tamales smoked with Prime beef tallow. There will also be a barista, a curated wine selection, and artisanal goods made by separate vendors. A sneak peek at the products and early Christmas shopping will be available on November 5 at its holiday pop-up market from noon to 6 p.m. There will be wine, light bites and live music.

Pappas BBQ celebrated its fiftieth anniversary this past October and the 18-location empire is expanding with a new, refined concept. Delta Blues Smokehouse, 19901 Gulf Freeway, officially opened November 1 in Webster. Defined as “Southern classic meets sophisticated barbecue”, expect an extensive bar menu and innovative takes on traditional southern sides, such as deviled eggs and fried green tomatoes.

Spicy Girl, a new Sichuan eatery specializing in mouth-tingling cuisine — and tamer Chinese dishes for the timid — is now softly open at 917 Winbern, Unit B, as reported here in the Houston Press. A huge ‘soft opening’ menu features almost 90 items, beer and wine is available, and juice and smoothies are planned for after the grand opening, the date of which is unknown.

Photo by Houston Press

After 37 years of serving Houstonians traditional Italian fare, Carmelo’s, 14795 Memorial, will serve its final meal on December 25, 2017, ending its run with the popular Christmas buffet, as reported here in the Press. Carmelo Maura came from Sicily in 1978 and opened the Houston location in 1981. According to Austin 360, the Austin location of Carmelo’s closed this summer with skyrocketing property taxes potentially to blame, keeping Austin expensive rather than weird.

Pappy’s Cafe, as the Press reported, is relocating in spring 2018. The new, larger restaurant will open at 12313 Katy Freeway, less than five miles from the original. Owners Paul and Lydia Braden decided to move the establishment once its lease expires. The current location, 9041 Katy Freeway, is still open, serving Texas comfort food and $4 margaritas.

Main Squeeze Juice Co. will open its first Houston location at 6825 South Fry in December, according to the Houston Chronicle. The Lake Charles-based juice and smoothie bar plans to expand its concept through franchising and corporate-owned stores, with a possible 10 to 15 locations in the Houston area alone. The business opened in 2016, offering packaged juices, smoothies, and a cleanse program, a trend that seems to be on the rise.

If fruit in ice cream form is more your thing, Brick Shavers, 6176 Highway 6 North, has a variety of crepes, ice creams, and fresh fruit toppings, along with the usual candy add-ons. The shop opened September 28 and has tot-sized tables and chairs and a chalkboard easel for wee ones.

Tarka Indian Kitchen, 2168 Spring Stuebner, opened its second Houston location on October 15. Started in 2009 in Austin, this fast-casual Indian restaurant serves curries, biryani, and vegetarian dishes. It’s a “green restaurant” that recycles old cooking oil, composts, and uses eco-friendly to-go packaging. Beer and wine are available. The Press took a first look at the Heights location, 721 W. 19th, over the summer and found it to be pretty tasty and affordable.

Another location of 85C Bakery Cafe opened in Sugar Land on November 3, according to the Chronicle. This is the third ‘Starbucks of Taiwan’ for Houston, with booming locations in Chinatown and Katy that opened over the summer.

In more unfortunate bakery news, Midtown hotspot Fluff Bake Bar, 314 Gray, is currently closed for a renovation after “a tenant in a third floor unit busted a pipe while moving,” according to CultureMap, destroying the dining area. The kitchen is still up and running with wholesale, and is expected to launch holiday pie sales soon. No word on how long the actual shop will be closed to retail customers.

Mini empanadas are a perfect appetizer at Pastel Gourmet.

Photo courtesy of Pastel Gourmet

After the chaos of Harvey, more businesses are reopening after cleaning and repairs. Pastel Gourmet, 6944 Cypresswood, is located in Champions, an area particularly hard hit by Harvey. This little Venezuelan bakery is attached to a gas station, but its exterior is cute and the South American fare keeps a regular clientele coming back for the empanadas and pasteles. Owner Marlon Urbina says, “Starting over is never easy...we decided to smile and move forward. We feel it was like a trim you give to a tree to let new branches come out greener and stronger.”

The cafe is now serving a new lunch menu and is reaching out to more customers with UberEats.

Give some amore to Cavatore's reopened restaurant.

Photo courtesy of Cavatore's

Cavatore’s Italian Restaurant, 2120 Ella, has finished its renovations after Hurricane Harvey left two feet of water in the restaurant. The sentimental favorite reopened September 20. With the combined decor of an old Texas barn moved from Bastrop, along with Italian photos and memorabilia, it’s been a popular date night destination for many a Houstonian, especially when there is a piano player, for 33 years. If you want to share a spaghetti noodle a la “Lady and the Tramp”, a red-checkered table at Cavatore’s is the spot.

Meanwhile, in the Warehouse District, brewery 160ft Beerworks, 1310 Nance, has shuttered for good. According to Eater Houston, this is also due to Harvey damage, or rather the way the landlord dealt with it. The brewery told fans on Facebook: “We were unable to accept the quality of our building owners remediation effort.”

Farther north, Harvey left a number of small businesses with big damage. Kolaches and Donut Express, 11808 Barker Cypress, reopened October 15. Its operating hours are 5 a.m. to noon, so get there early for a sausage and cheese kolache, a favorite of a tipster in Cypress.

Get a kick from the Sultan's Mule.

Photo courtesy of Doco Grill and Bar

Doco Grill and Bar, 25551 Kingsland, opened September 12 in Katy, according to Community Impact. The Mediterranean restaurant serves doner, hummus, falafel, and Turkish inspired cuisine. There is also a full bar serving cocktails such as the Sultan’s Mule, made with Turkey’s distilled anise-flavored spirit raki instead of vodka. A couple of those and you may feel like you got kicked by the Sultan’s mule.

YokohamayaJapanese Restaurant, 27200 U.S. 290, opened October 10 in Cypress. The restaurant is located in a strip center, but its interior is beautifully done in gorgeous wood, with a collection of teapots and bamboo plants. Its artfully-plated food and fresh sushi is getting rave reviews, accompanied by gorgeous photos on Yelp.

The food and decor are a pleasure for the senses at Yokohamaya.

Photo courtesy of Yokohamaya

Flipping Pizza, 30340 FM 2978, had its grand opening September 21. The Magnolia pizza joint serves very thin New York-style pizza, by pie and slice, and offers online ordering. Beer and wine are available, also.

Joy Love Burgers, 22625 Highway 249, opened October 10. The burger joint offers chicken and other sandwiches as well. If you like your buns buttered and toasted, this is the place for you. The signature Joy Love burger consists of an Angus beef patty, grilled chicken tender, avocado, and grilled onions. Love and joy can’t come to you. You have to drive out to Tomball to get it.

JJIGAE, 990 Rayford, opened October 12. This Korean eatery offers those in the Spring and Woodlands area a much closer drive for bibimbap, a traditional Korean dish of rice, vegetables, and protein such as fried egg. The dish came about as a way to use leftovers, like so many other tasty comfort foods.

Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill, 8383 Westheimer, has closed, apparently due to a lease termination with close to $71,000 due in back rent, as reported by Swamplot. This leaves seven remaining Fadi’s restaurants, including three Dallas franchises and one coming soon to the former Bosta Kitchen location in the Museum District.

H-E-B is expected to announce the construction of a 100,000-square-foot grocery store at 610 and Beechnut in the Meyerland Plaza retail center, but a spokesperson says no contract has been signed, according to Realty News Report. Hurricane Harvey flooded the H-E-B location at 5417 S. Braeswood, resulting in a permanent closure. H-E-B is also constructing a two-story store in Northwest Bellaire set to open in 2018.

Another Starbucks is opening in Houston. Starbucks No. 48023 is about ready to open at 1801 Richmond, as reported by as reported by Swamplot. Just in time for pumpkin-spice latte madness.

AndThroughGood Coffee at 732 W. 27th in the Heights adds a food truck out front, Soul Taco, on November 4, that, like the coffee shop, will be run by Beyonce’s pastor Rudy Rasmus, as Eater Houston reports.

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Lorretta Ruggiero is a Houston Press freelance writer based in Cypress, Texas. She loves entertaining her family and friends with her food and sparkling wit. She is married to Classic Rock Bob and they have two exceptionally smart-aleck children.

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